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Hudson, MacDonald compete for MN court seat

MOORHEAD, Minn. — Voters were asked to decide if a recent appointee or an attorney should be placed on seat six of the Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

As of late Tuesday, with 2,729 of 4,120 precincts reporting, Justice Natalie Hudson was leading with 60 percent of the vote over attorney Michelle L. MacDonald.

Hudson, who was appointed in 2015 by Gov. Mark Dayton to finish out Justice Alan Page's term. Page retired after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.

Hudson has been practicing law since 1982, with this marking her first candidacy to the court. She has the backing of the Minnesota Bar Association, which polled its members and found 94 percent her favor.

MacDonald, who has been an attorney since 1986, ran for election to the court in 2014 but lost after garnering 47 percent of the vote. She made headlines in 2013 when she was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and resisting arrest. She was convicted of refusing a breath test and refusing arrest, and appealed the decision, but the conviction was upheld in the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

The nine nonpartisan supreme court justices are elected to six-year terms and paid an annual salary of $138,318.

Wendy reports for The Forum and West Fargo Pioneer, where she is also assistant editor. A University of Minnesota Morris graduate from North Dakota, Wendy started her career in television news and entertainment in Minnesota and and at CBS Television City, Calif. before working at newspapers in Minnesota and North Dakota.